4 teachers are leaving this year end. Me, Sarang, Kim Gyeong and Lee Dae S.
I'm going to miss all my coworkers! Despite not speaking each other's language well, we got along great and they were all so very kind and helpful. We did a lot of things together too! Like hiking!
The teachers who are changing are some of my favorites too. Lol.

I found out today that the person taking my place will not be living in my old house. I am bummed about this! I wanted an English speaking neighbor! I feel really really really really bad for the new person - because they have to live in Goesan. There is only one other English teacher from our program living in Goesan. He lived there all alone last year. He says he would have gone crazy except he went to Busan every weekend. (Busan is a 6 hour bus ride or a 3 hour KTX ride (shinkansen but korean)) He had a lot of trouble with his housing there too. The building was still being built when they moved him in there, and within half a year - the new place had tons of black mold underneath the wallpaper and everywhere. And just all kinds of lies and crap about the housing. It's been a bad year for the guy.
So I can only hope and pray that there are 2 people in Goesan, and that they get to be neighbors AND maybe they won't be in that horrid building.

So now I have to figure out what things my predecessor left me versus what belongs to the school. The 26th is when my school will collect all these things for their new teacher.
But I know I can keep all my stuff here until sometime on the 25th and I am off on that day - so I have plenty of time to move upstairs. And this way J doesn't have to be so stressed about getting things out of his house. There's some wiggle room.

I'm off from now until the 26th - when I go to my new school.
Plenty of time to pack and clean and prepare.

Eheh. Funny story. So yesterday about an hour or so before lunch - my VP tells me after lunch I'm going to the new school to meet the principal. Ok. So After lunch, the principal herself says "Let's go" and so I get in her car and we go to the new school. The principal there came out and was all "Hello what are you doing here?!" to my principal. She told him she brought me (the new teacher) to meet him and everyone else. The principal had NO IDEA we were coming. Lol. That is Korea for you.
So I met the principal, and then my principal said, "Ok, you go to the teacher's office. He and I are going to meet the principal over at the other elementary school. Bye!" Only this was all in Korean, and I half understood it.
The poor office teacher! Ha! She was like "Does she speak Korean well?" And I said no, not really, my Korean is terrible. She said she doesn't really speak Korean. But we went to the office, she offered me tea, and she called around to find somebody, anybody who spoke English. The head English teacher was out and she is actually leaving so the new head (Min Teacher) is hesitant. He's nice, I've met him before, but he is so nervous about his English. Aww! (*snickers* i'll just remind him i'm friends with nicole and see if we can all do dinner together. heh. he likes nicole... nicole likes rob tho... so poor Min Teacher!) Anyway.
Min Teacher wasn't in his office, so they called Jongsoo. He came over. He always looks so grave when it comes to school stuff. It was weird. So I officially greeted the VP and they told J to give me a tour around the school. All this took place in Korean. I understood it, but as J and I were walking out, I said "So you're taking me on a tour. You realize no one spoke any English at all."
We found Min Teacher when we were in the 5th grade English classroom. Rather, he found us. I think he was walking around checking on stuff so not at his desk.
He looked nervous.
The school has been relying heavily on J for stuff - because he is bilingual and because they can.
My coming in and not being bilingual will be a big change for them.
On one hand - they're lucky to have someone who at least knows a basic amount of Korean - because chances are any new person would speak no Korean at all. Anyway, we'll see how things work out.
Min Teacher was in charge of the TalK scholars, so I know he can take care of me! He just won't have J as a language buffer.

Sadly - I probably have my ex co-teacher's wife as a co-teacher. Still praying some miracle will occur. It turns out the wife was the principal's former student - so she has connections and is more likely to be chosen simply on a buddy-basis.
J says I must be cursed with this family. I think so. I think so indeed.

But by taking this job - I don't have to move to Goesan. I think that in and of itself is a bullet dodged.